The coming issue of Entertainment Weekly (dated March 28) heavily features the upcoming fourth season of Game of Thrones. James Hibberd reports extensively from the set in Croatia. The season is supposed to be biggest and bloodiest so far, hard as that may be to believe after season three. Quoth David Benioff:

It’s just more intense than it ever has been, we always before had breathing room episodes before. There’s just no relaxing this season. If we can pull this off, it will top season 3.

EW promises ten pages of awesomeness, including a catch-up primer, a Q&A with Peter Dinklage, a first look at some new props such as Jaime’s hand, and more.

Grab the issue at your local stand when it comes out, or secure digital access to it to enjoy all the details.

Let’s face it: Joffrey is one of the greatest villains of all time! What other character has achieved this magnitude of lovable hate? *bows while listening “Mhysa” by Ramin Djawadi* All hail the King! Well done Jack Gleeson!

Alright… The trailers have all been amazing, all the interviews have been great, but with these magazine articles coming out and the premier last night…. season 4 is starting to feel REAL folks! 18 dayyyyyyssss!

I disagree. When they say that somebody is in for a world of hurt, to me that’ s a pretty good clue that something is going to happen to them. And with Game of thrones, its usually not getting tickled.

I think this actually makes Joffrey look like a player now that he’s getting married and not tied to Cersei anymore and this is actually promoting that he’s going to be featured more only to be killed in episode 2- maybe reaching

Oh, an older dialect…I wonder why i didn’t see it in my Volantese-English dictionary.
I like Jason Isaacs well enough. I’ll have to consider your argument. But until then…

Mrs. R.:May I ask you a question?
What do you think of me?

Benjamin: What do you mean?

R:You’ve known me nearly all your life. You must have formed some opinion of me?

B: Well, I’ve always thought that you were a very nice person.

R: Did you know I was an alchoholic?

B: what?

R: Did you know that?

B: look, I think I should be going.

R: Sit down Benjamin.

B: Mrs. Robinson, If you don’t mind my saying so this conversation is getting a little strange. Now, I’m sure that Mr Robinson will be here any minute now..

R: No.

B: What?

R: My husband will be back quite late. He should be gone for several hours.

B: oh my god!

R: Pardon?

B: oh no. Mrs. Robinson, Oh no.

R: What’s wrong?

B: Mrs Robinson you didn’t…I mean you didn’t expect…

R: What?

B: I mean you didn’t really think i’d do something like that?

R: Like what?

B: what do you think?

R: well, I don’t know.

B: for god’s sake!…Mrs. Robinson!…Here we are, you got me into your house. you give me a drink. You put on music.
Now you start opening up your personal life to me, and tell me your husband won’t be home for hours…

I think both actors would make excellent Euron’s. Jason Isaacs would be more dramatic and theatrical, while Mads Mikkelsen would be more cold and dangerous. I’ll go with Mikkelsen, but I wouldn’t mind Isaacs.

Ray Stevenson is a sure Victarion. There is no other.
Peter Mullan as Randyl Tarly.
Damian Lewis as Griff.
Me as Young Griff.

I have an unsullied friend who only caught up in SoS in the last week to Joffery’s death. He had seen all the trailers and had no idea that it was going to happen. With respect to Tyrion in shackles he said “I was like oh god, what did he do”. It seriously only looks remotely obvious if you already know.

Interesting part of his interview: It might need a feature to tie things up, something with a feature budget, like $100 million for two hours. Those dragons get real big, you know.

At the very least, this somewhat confirms that the dragons, not only will be massive by the end, will play a large part in the very end of the series. Which we all could have assumed and expected anyway, but with Martin it’s almost impossible to guess as he’s always surprising us with plot twists we wouldn’t expect.

I don’t like the term “win” because I feel like it would be really below GRRM to end with someone winning the throne plain and simple. But I’m curious to know why you think she won’t, in some form, at least partly “win.” I’m a huge proponent of R + L = J so I’m 100% convinced he’ll “win” in his own way, but I’ve always been pretty convinced Dany would too, as little as that pleases me

Edit: that list bit sounds rather contradictory as I’ve used Dany as my alias for these comments LOL… but I truly am not a fan of hers

Another edit: plus the whole “bride” prophecy bit definitely does more than hint at those two as a power couple *shudders*

In the show version of the House of the Undying, Dany walks into the throne room. There’s something falling through the destroyed roof. It could be ash, it could be snow. It could be symbolic of Jon Snow ending up on the throne. In any case, she has to turn away from the throne to get to her dragons, just as she turns away from Drogo after that. I think she’ll have the opportunity to take the throne but give it up. Maybe she just realizes Westeros is not her home. Maybe she dies to save someone else. I don’t know how it will play out.

All the gnashing of teeth over how the show didn’t show the prophecies from the HotU from the book I think makes a lot of people not look at what it actually did show us.

The cover seems to be flirting with spoilers. A LOT of people dislike Joffrey and I know some fans who haven’t read the books who watch every week fervently hoping that Joffrey will get his. Why even hint that something bad happens to Joffrey? But I do like the Gleeson/Dormer pic.

They should have put the shot of both of them on the cover. Really project the power couple thing that house of cards has going… and then BAM! Two eps in…. I’m not down with the spoiler headline on the cover. Happy for Gleeson to get some recognition, but for marketing purposes having the great shot of the two of them woulda been cool, give the idea that these two houses have joined and are truly strong, which is where they end the 3rd season (plotting and scheming notwithstanding). just show the shot of the two of them and Marg lookin lovely in her black gown should be enough… is it really necessary to claim that the king of pain is hurtin for certain??

I think both actors would make excellent Euron’s. Jason Isaacs would be more dramatic and theatrical, while Mads Mikkelsen would be more cold and dangerous. I’ll go with Mikkelsen, but I wouldn’t mind Isaacs.

Ray Stevenson is a sure Victarion. There is no other.
Peter Mullan as Randyl Tarly.
Damian Lewis as Griff.
Me as Young Griff.